Tyrone Regional Health Network conducted a
decontamination exercise Friday with the
help of students from Tyrone Area High School
who said the drill almost felt real.
"It does give a sense of realism because all
of our other drills have just been stay in
the classroom and just wait until everybody's
done," said Michael Stoner, a senior at Tyrone
Area High School.
"This was, we actually came out here, you had
to walk through water like you have tear gas
on you," said Lucia Isenberg, a junior.
"It's not just a fire drill or like when
someone's hurt and they have to bring an ambulance
so they lock down the school. It's real. This
is the world we live in today."
The decontamination drill is part of a county
wide preparedness training.
The scenario involved responding to a release of
tear gas.
"They're running a full-scale exercise here today
basically testing what would happen if there
was a chemical episode somewhere," said Mark Taylor
the director of public safety for Blair County.
"Today they used a school."
"It was just to see how the hospital could prepare
and react if a situation like the tear gas ever
happened to our school and to see if they could
handle the mass amount of students our school
would send out," Stoner said.
Taylor said the tear gas would get into clothing
very quickly.
During the simulation, dozens of students exited
the school and made their way to the parking lot
where fire hoses sprayed them down.
"They set up gross decontamination with the fire
departments," Taylor said. "Essentially getting
that first bunch of chemicals off the people
that they are no longer contaminated."
Multiple students were also sent to a nearby
hospital, where staff quickly ushered them
outside to prevent further contamination.
"The staff knows not to let them in any further
so it doesn't contaminate the hospital," Taylor
said. "They come out and they do a decontamination
tent, get everything set up and actually take
those two students back out and run them through
decontamination so they are clean and can go
back in and be treated."
Students said this type of event could happen
when least expected.